Legacy of LaRue County's Santa to live on

By fall a school bus in the Morrison's backyard is usually full of toys.

Bobby Morrison

Snookie Morrison

HODGENVILLE, KY (WAVE) - Hodgenville is a long way from the North Pole, but thanks to one man the town had a Santa workshop of its own.

"The smile of the children's face is all the rewarding he got," Bobby Morrison's wife, Snookie Morrison said.

It was that joy that drove her husband to spend 47 years of his life bringing Christmas to the poorest children of LaRue County.

By fall a school bus in the Morrison's backyard is usually full of toys. The organizing, cleaning, and sorting takes a lot of work. For Snookie Morrison the task this year will by far be the toughest yet.

"It's gonna be harder this year because he's not going to be home," she said.

On June 8 the Morrison's had their family over for dinner.

"He was doing pretty good and just a little bit later he went into one of those spells that he'd been having and then the next thing you know, he was gone," Snookie Morrison said of her husband of 45 years.

Bobby Morrison was 88 years old. He was a farmer, a Boy Scout leader and a firefighter for more than three decades.

Tuesday Snookie Morrison looked back on their time together in scrapbooks full of pictures, articles and Christmas memories that she hopes will continue to grow.

"It's gonna go on. It's Bobby and he wouldn't want us to quit," she said.

With the help of about 20 volunteers the Bobby Morrison's Santa Claus Program handed out toys to more than 1,000 children in 2013. It's her husband's legacy that Snookie says helps her stay strong.

"We want to make people happy and make him happy upstairs there too," she said fighting back tears.

The Hodgenville Fire Department is helping organize parts of the funeral service for Bobby Morrison which will be held Thursday.